The barman tipped several packets of peanuts into a bowl on the bar. Soon everyone was munching away and waiting eagerly for the next story.

~ ~ ~

High within their celestial plane, the three sisters of fate are going about their tasks. Clotho is spinning the threads of life while Lachesis sorts the strands, determining where one's life should be cut. From there it's up to Atropos to decide the how of one's demise. It's all in a day's work for the sisters. That is, until Clotho unexpectedly spins two threads simultaneously.

"Oh, crap. Not again."

"What is it this time, Clotho?" Lachesis asked. She held a heavy pair of shears with a silvery strand dangling between the sharp blades.

Clotho held up the threads for her sisters to see.

"Oh, the poor dears." Atropos spoke up from her scrying pool.

"I know," Clotho pouted. "They never last long when they come in pairs."

<<>>

Mary had just sat down for some home cooked Lean Cuisine when her cell phone chimed, alerting her to a new message. She'd been mindlessly twirling the pasta onto her fork but then paused when she saw that the message was from Tom. She barely even knew the guy, but every time she received a message from him her heart sped up and her palms grew damp.

They'd met on one of those online dating websites. In his profile picture he had been dressed as the Talladega Nights guy. The rest of his profile had been hysterically tongue –in-cheek. Mary told herself that it had been his sense of humor that had caught her attention. In truth, it was his smile that reeled her in. Mary considered herself to be a realist. She didn't believe in love at first sight or serendipity. Instead she believed that you made your own luck and sometimes shitty things happen to good people.

As she read his message her mouth dropped open and the fork fell from her fingers, taking most of the pasta with it as it clattered to the floor.

He was coming to New York, and he wanted to meet her.

She'd only been messaging him for a few weeks. For crying out loud, they hadn't even spoken on the phone. There was no way she was ready to meet him in person. That's what she told herself anyway.

Covering her mouth with her hands, Mary giggled hysterically before she picked her phone up to reply.

<<>>

Tom was just getting ready to leave the office when his phone chimed.

That was fast; he thought while he tried not to feel disappointed. It had been stupid to ask if she wanted to meet. Hell,for all she knew he could be some crazy psycho. It was just that when he'd found out that he was being sent to New York for a meeting, he'd been so excited that he'd wanted to tell her. Asking her out on a date had been a brash decision that he regretted the moment he hit SEND.

Shrugging into his jacket, Tom picked up his phone with the intention of pocketing it and reading the message when he got home. Instead, he stood there looking down at the message icon that glowed brightly, beckoning to him.

Ah, hell. Maybe it was best to rip it off like a Band-Aid and get it over with.

His thumb hovered over the icon before he pressed it harder than he needed to. When the message came up all the air left his lungs in a whoosh!

"YES!!!"

She'd said yes! Well, she'd said some other stuff too but Tom had stopped reading after that one word. With a whoop of delight, he pumped his fist in the air and jumped up and down. All around him, heads popped up over cubicles and out of offices to see what on earth he was doing.

Clearing his throat, Tom smoothed his hands over his tie as he composed himself before grabbing the rest of his things and heading for the exit.

<<>>

Mary usually spent her subway commute with her nose buried in a book, and the next day was no different. Except that her book lay open and unread in her lap. Instead she stared off into space while her thoughts focused on a stranger in San Diego.

She really should stop thinking of him as a stranger. They'd been texting every day for weeks now. It must be because they hadn't met in person yet. Or it could be because she had no idea how to date. The only other relationship she'd ever been in had been with her childhood friend.

The familiar ache in her chest returned with thoughts of Kevin. She couldn't say for sure why they'd never gotten married, or even engaged. They just hadn't been in any kind of hurry. There was always time; until one day there wasn't.

The cancer had been swift and efficient. Less than three months after the shocking diagnosis, he was gone.

Her stop was announced on the overhead speaker and with a shake of her head she closed her book and slipped it into her messenger bag. From the station, it was only a couple of blocks to her work. However the snow and holiday crowds made what was normally a ten minute walk twice that.

Along with a gust of frigid air, Mary was blown into the lobby of the telemarketing firm she worked for. It was far from the most glamorous job she'd ever had, but it paid the bills and she enjoyed her co-workers.

Speaking of, her steps slowed as she took in a group that had gathered around Cameron, who was standing on a chair—reciting Shakespeare? Mary mused that that was far from the strangest thing she'd caught her flamboyant friend in the middle of.

When the handsome twenty-something caught sight of her, his face lit up, "What doth mine eyes perceive?"

Mary giggled self-consciously.

Jumping down from the chair, Cameron made his way through the crowd toward her, all the while his voice boomed. "By the look of it, thy sweet lady has found herself a lover, I think. Look at how her cheeks grow rose. Pray tell, who is the auspicious lad?"

Rolling her eyes Mary shook her head, "Knock it off, Cam. It's no one."

"Ah-ha! So the lady does not deny a lover," he placed a hand on his chest and sighed dramatically as he pretended to swoon. When his eyes popped open they glowed mischievously. "This calls for some Cymbeline,"

Turning back to the rest of the crowd, Cameron spread his arms and began to recite:

"Come on; tune

If you can penetrate her with your fingering, so we'll try with tongue too:

If none will do, let her remain; but I'll never give o'er.

First, a very excellent good-conceited thing; after, a wonderful sweet air, with admirable rich words to it:

and then let her consider."

Turning back to Mary, he grabbed her hands and began pulling her into the crowd that was growing larger by the moment. She could feel her cheeks burning with embarrassment, but she knew quite well that there was no stopping her friend when he was performing.

Cameron cleared his throat and then began to sing in a boisterous voice,

"Hark, hark! The lark at heaven's gate sings,
And Phoebus 'gins arise,
His steeds to water at those springs
On chaliced flowers that lies;
And winking Mary-buds begin
To ope their golden eyes:
With everything that pretty is,
My lady sweet, arise:
Arise, arise."

When he'd finished he wrapped Mary in a strong hug and kissed the top of her head.

"Now, tell me all about the man who has finally stolen your heart."

With a sigh, she wrapped her arm around his waist as they made their way out of the lobby and back toward their offices. "There really isn't much to tell."

"Well tell me anyway."

<<>>

Instead of working, Tom found himself either staring off into space or checking his phone for messages. Neither was in anyway productive. He still had a week until his business trip, and at the rate he was going he was going to drive himself crazy long before then.

Forcing his attention back to his computer, he soon found himself surfing instead of working on the account that was due. He wanted to give Mary something when they met. Nothing crazy like jewelry or anything extravagant, just something to tell her he'd thought of her. The question was, what?

The answer came when his eye landed on one of those ads in the side bar of the page he was on. It was perfect! He knew without really knowing why, that she would love it.

Just his luck, the link that sent him to the website was damaged and he couldn't seem to get through to the check-out page. There was a customer service number though, where you could order the old fashioned way. For a moment his mouse hovered over the little red box to close the page, but instead he reached for his phone and punching in the 1-888 number.

After navigating an automated menu, Tom found himself waiting on hold for the next available representative.

He was serenaded by, Hark!the herald angels sing. Glory to the new-born king! Christmas themed Muzak through the handset and Tom rubbed at his forehead. God he hated Christmas music. Glancing down at his watch, he sighed. He really needed to get his work done instead of wasting it on hold.

Tom had just about had enough when the music suddenly clicked off and a pleasant voice took its place, "Thank you for holding. My name is Mary, how can I help you today?"

The irritation he'd been feeling seemed to melt away and Tom leaned back in his chair as a smile spread across his lips. Wouldn't it be funny if she was his Mary, "I'd like to place an order, but your website seems to be having some technical difficulties?"

"Oh, well I'm very sorry for any inconvenience that may have caused you. I can definitely help you with your order though."

There was something very soothing about the woman's voice, "It's really no inconvenience at all."

"Well, I'm glad to hear that. Now, what is it I can help you with?"

With the woman's help, Tom was able to order Mary's gift.

<<>>

Mary practically vibrated as she logged off and set her headset on top of her keyboard. In an hour she would finally get to meet Tom!

Her stomach absolutely churned with butterflies. In fact, she couldn't think of a single moment in her life where she had ever felt more nervous. Her eyes went to the small picture she kept tacked to the cloth walls of the cubical. It was the last picture she had taken with Kevin.

What would he think of all of this, she wondered? No doubt he'd want her to be happy and not waste her life mourning him. Kevin had never had a jealous bone in his body, and she couldn't imagine that he would be any different in the afterlife.

Grabbing her jacket and purse, she headed toward the back of the building and the parking garage. She rarely bothered taking her car to work. The subway was just as fast and she hated the hassle of traffic. Today was different though. It was much faster to drive to the restaurant rather than hop a dozen busses.

Even though it was technically indoors, the garage was freezing. Sliding into the driver's seat, Mary hit the heater and seat warmers. While she waited for the car to warm up she pulled up the GPS directions on her phone.

It was a winter wonderland outside of the garage. Colorful lights decorated buildings which then reflected off the wet roads and snowbanks. It was beautiful, but distracting. Holiday traffic made the drive into a white knuckle affair and slowed her down more than she had anticipated.

"Turn left at 156th..." the GPS pleasantly instructed her while she was in the middle of said intersection.

Mary spit out curses that would have made any New Yorker proud. Now she had to go two more blocks just to turn around. For the hundredth time, she eyed the clock. She was supposed to be meeting Tom in five minutes and she was still several blocks away!

A car suddenly pulled out in front of her, and Mary had to slam on her breaks to avoid becoming a passenger in their backseat. She pounded her fist on the horn and screamed some more obscenities, even though it was probably her that wasn't paying enough attention.

As she made her way around the block to her missed street, Mary reminded herself that a ticket or accident would only slow her down more. She turned down 156th and felt her heartbeat speed up. The worst of the drive was now behind her, and she began scoping the sides for a parking spot.

If Mary had been paying more attention, instead of worrying about where she was going to park, she might have had more time to act when the man stepped right out in front of her car. Instead, she barely had time to gasp and hit her breaks.

For a split second she could swear that the man looked like Kevin, just before she squeezed her eyes closed and waiting for the collision. Instead of hitting the man, the impact came from behind.

As she was rear ended, her car was pushed into the opposite lane where another jarring crash sent her little Honda rolling into the next intersection. When her car finally came to rest, it was on its side, driver's side down.

Mary blinked and her breath came in pants as she tried to make sense of what had just happened. The next thing she saw was the glaring pair of headlights as a yellow taxi cab slammed into her.

<<>>

The meeting had been the longest in Tom's life. By the time they had called an end to the day he'd be ready to crawl out of his skin. In fact, he was pretty sure that he wouldn't have run out of the building any faster had it been on fire.

Rushing to the street, Tom shoved both pinkies into the corners of his mouth and let loose a shrill whistle. Just like in the movies, a yellow cab darted over to pull in front of him and he slid into the back seat. That was where the comparison to movies ended. The cab smelled strongly of ashtray and feet.

In a heavily accented voice, the driver asked where they were going. Tom handed over the folded up paper with the address and then sat back while the cabbie weaved in and out of traffic on the way to their destination.

Tom started out the window at the brightly lit buildings all around him. The way the colorful lights reflected off of the snow and slick streets was lovely, and so completely different from his west coast home.

He was so mesmerized with the scenery that he had completely forgotten that there was another person in the car with him. That is, until he heard his sharp intake of air. Tom's eyes swung to the front of the car where he watched a car rolling to a stop in the middle of the intersection and right in front of them. He had enough reaction time to brace his hands on the seat in front of him, and to realize that he hadn't buckled his seatbelt, before they hit the car.

<<>>

"Really Atropos," Clotho said with a shake of her head. "Was that necessary?"

Looking up from the scrying pool, Atropo gave her sister a questioning look. "They are soulmates, Clotho. The only way they can be together is if they are both souls.

"Not that," Clotho said with a wave her hand.

"Did you have to use so much fire and twisted metal to get the job done?" Lachesis spoke up.

"Oh," glancing down at the wreckage that reflected within the depths of the pool, she shrugged. "Well, I wanted to be sure. Those humans can be surprisingly resilient."

The sisters all nodded, mumbling their acquiescence.

Atropos cleared the scene with a wave her hand before calling up a new vision. Clotho resumed spinning her thread, and the gentle air was once more filled with the snip of Lachesis's shears.